One goal of this project is to break down some of the resistance people often feel towards poetry in general. Song of Myself has an important place in the history of poetry for many reasons:
it is among the first (if not the first) long-form poem in blank verse;
it asserts a new and distinctly American style and diction ;
and absolutely none of that will mean anything if you try to read it and are repulsed by its unfamiliarity and so declare it boring and go play video games.
So we're going to go over some basics and try to shake things up.
Are you ready to sing?
Poetry Questions and Exercises
Distinguish between poetry and prose.
What are the advantages of one over the other?
Imagine you've developed an obscure neurological condition which results in only being able to communicate using poetry. Provide a transcription of an ordinary conversation you might have with friends, teachers, parents or other people as you go through your day. Are there any advantages to using poetry to communicate ordinary things?
Blank Verse
What is "blank verse"? Why is it blank? How would you describe it to your friends?
Distinguish Whitman's style from that of a contemporary British poet like Coleridge, Wordsworth, Keats or Shelley. What makes Whitman's work distinctly American?
Influence of Emerson
Walt Whitman was a great admirer of transcendentalist philosopher and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson. He was reading works by Emerson, he says, when he was inspired to begin Leaves of Grass. Emerson's letter to Whitman on Reading the 1855 edition was included in the second edition. Whitman even included a precursor to a blurb by stamping a quote from that letter, "I greet you at the beginning of a great career." and Emerson's name on the spine that edition.
Research Emerson and his writings. Pay particular attention to The American Scholar. Speculate on how this essay and other Emerson writings may have shaped Whitman's style and subject matter.
What is transcendentalism? Is Song of Myself a transcendentalist poem? Why or why not?
Critical Questions - On Poetry
One goal of this project is to break down some of the resistance people often feel towards poetry in general. Song of Myself has an important place in the history of poetry for many reasons:
and absolutely none of that will mean anything if you try to read it and are repulsed by its unfamiliarity and so declare it boring and go play video games.
So we're going to go over some basics and try to shake things up.
Are you ready to sing?
Poetry Questions and Exercises
Distinguish between poetry and prose.- What are the advantages of one over the other?
- Imagine you've developed an obscure neurological condition which results in only being able to communicate using poetry. Provide a transcription of an ordinary conversation you might have with friends, teachers, parents or other people as you go through your day. Are there any advantages to using poetry to communicate ordinary things?
Blank Verse- What is "blank verse"? Why is it blank? How would you describe it to your friends?
- Distinguish Whitman's style from that of a contemporary British poet like Coleridge, Wordsworth, Keats or Shelley. What makes Whitman's work distinctly American?
Influence of EmersonWalt Whitman was a great admirer of transcendentalist philosopher and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson. He was reading works by Emerson, he says, when he was inspired to begin Leaves of Grass. Emerson's letter to Whitman on Reading the 1855 edition was included in the second edition. Whitman even included a precursor to a blurb by stamping a quote from that letter, "I greet you at the beginning of a great career." and Emerson's name on the spine that edition.
- Research Emerson and his writings. Pay particular attention to The American Scholar. Speculate on how this essay and other Emerson writings may have shaped Whitman's style and subject matter.
- What is transcendentalism? Is Song of Myself a transcendentalist poem? Why or why not?
Our Critical ApproachOur Tools
...Creating a Glossary Page
Critical Questions
...on Poetry
...on Song of Myself
...on Walt Whitman
...on Whitman's America
Resources